


Stories

by blessende



Series: Searching for Levi [14]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M, Parallel world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 19:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blessende/pseuds/blessende
Summary: The history of communication is peppered with ingenuity and myth. And here was Eren with a talking watch. Set in the Searching for Levi universe. Year 2012.





	Stories

 

 

Stories

~.~

 

_Hey Corporal._

_Have you ever heard the story about Pyramus and Thisbe?_

_Okay, okay, don't glare at me now._

_No, I can't see you… but I’m sure you're glaring at me anyway._

_Let me tell you then. Listen carefully._

_What do you mean you don't want to hear a half-assed story about my silly-ass world? You gotta listen to this! It's important, Levi. There's a moral lesson here._

_So, do I have your attention now?_

_Yes?_

_Okay, here goes._

_Well, Pyramus and Thisbe were these two lovers in Babylon. They were neighbors, but they couldn't meet each other because their families were having a feud. Yeah, you heard me right. A feud. You know... the whole Montague and Capulet our-families-hate-each-other-so-we-can't-meet deal. And back in those times, whatever you did, you never fraternized with the enemy. That’s right. Never. Wait. What do you mean you don't know any Montague and Capulet? Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet? Oh, come on, sir! THE Romeo and Juliet! Man, you haven't heard of them either? What rock have you been living under? Oh wait, don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question! Yes, I do know you live on Titan. And no, I don't suffer from amnesia. Alright, never mind... so about this Pyramus guy and Thisbe chick. Well, they were these two star crossed lovers of Babylon. Hm, what's Babylon? It's a place. And it's not important to the story._

_Whoa. I should get my facts right before telling a story?_

_Like I said, it's not relevant. Stop interrupting me in the middle or we're going to be awake the whole night... day... um, what time is it over there?_

_Okay, okay, jeez, chill, I’ll get on with the story. So, Pyramus and Thisbe. Star crossed lovers. Family feud and all that jazz. Now the only way these two talked to each other was through a crack in the wall. Yes, you heard me right. A crack in the wall. That's how they talked to each other. Through a crack in the wall. It was their own little secret that no one knew about. So, one day, they arranged to meet near a mulberry tree but—_

_But something terrible happened._

_They—_

_What's a mulberry tree?_

_It's a… tree._

_What does the tree look like? How the hell am I supposed to know! It would look like a fucking tree._

_Whoa, whoa. What do you mean I'm a lousy storyteller?_

_Man, I’m never telling you a story again._

_You take the fun out of everything, Rivaille._

_Yes, you do._

_Corporal?_

_Uh, Levi?_

_Are you listening?_

 

 

 

 

 

The history of communication is peppered with ingenuity and myth. The Greeks once believed in the rainbow goddess Iris to carry their messages through. Not far behind them, were the Romans who used carrier pigeons to send home news of victory from battlefields. Centuries bore on, farther west, the Red Indians learned to speak to eagles and could read the star-studded sky for their fortunes. In a prospering civilization of the Middle East, the Egyptians discovered the papyrus and began to etch away hieroglyphics on tombstones and temples.

Communication evolved from a crack in the wall. Humankind evolved too, making one breakthrough after another.

Letters. Telephone. Email. Text messages. Snapchat. FaceTime. Skype.

And here was Eren with a talking watch.

A talking watch that lay silent on the bed while the twenty-two-year-old cleared the clothes from the floor, kicking his laundry hamper into a corner. The brown haired young man sat down on the floor of his dorm room, his brows knit in concentration. He placed the circular pods on the carpet, lining them up in a perfect square as the message had instructed. A square three by three. He took his time with the adhesive strap at the back of each pod, handling them with care… again, as the message had _instructed_. When the last of the pods were placed into a quadrant and ready, he got to his feet and searched for the controller in the back pocket of his jeans. The brunet fished it out and taking a careful step back, he surveyed his work. Pleased with himself, Eren pressed the green button on the controller’s radial and waited.

His buzz of excitement faltered for a small moment.

Because nothing happened.

No smoke.

No explosion.

No blue-eyed djinns.

Eren plodded back to the square and studied it, wondering if something was amiss.

As if in answer, his watch beeped from the bed, and Eren lunged for it. He pressed the blinking light on the dial and received his incoming call. A call that was special… not because it came from space or a distant planet a million light years away. But special, because it was from someone who he hadn't met in over five months. Eren passed a glance at his time. Four pm (just as promised).

There was the usual drawn out pause before a voice spoke up. Languid, deep and knowing more than letting on.

_[Not bad. You kept to the time.]_

There it was, the ambiguity between words and sentences. The spaces that Eren had learned to fill out all on his own.

The young man gave the watch a narrow glance.

'It's not like you gave me much choice, sir.'

A pause.

_[There is always a choice, trooper.]_

Eren hummed as he walked over to the window to pull the blinds down. One could never be too careful. Especially when your friends tended to walk in on you uninvited. Especially when everyone in the boy’s dorm liked to beg, borrow and steal.

'Not when the orders come from you, sir,' Eren said. 'To quote you, Corporal, your exact words were 'Be in your room at sixteen hundred hours earth time. You better not keep me waiting.' If there was a choice there, it totally zipped past me.'

There was a hum of amusement on the other end.

Eren brought down the blinds with a rough yank of the string. He gave the watch a furtive look. 'And you know, Levi, your rendezvous order almost sounded like an invitation to... you _know_.'

_[Invitation to... what?]_

'Hey, don't play innocent. You know what I mean.'

_[No, Eren. I’m not well versed with the colloquial language of your planet. So, spell it out for me. Word to word.]_

Eren sighed and pressed his thumbs against the edge of his eyes. He hated how he dug his own grave at times. 'Know what? Never mind,' he said, giving in. ‘So, what’s up?’

There was an awkward silence, and Eren could hear his guardian moving about on the other end. The sound of curtains being pulled, paper rustling and footsteps. Eren stood rapt in attention, piqued by the sounds he was hearing. What was the man up to? The ward passed a glance at his watch, reading the time again. Five minutes past sixteen hundred hours already.

'Uh, Levi, it's five minutes already,' he spoke out loud. 'So, are you gonna tell me what the pods do?'

_[Hm, they won't turn into tentacle sex machines... if that's what you're worried about.]_

Eren pulled a face and shot his watch a dirty look.

'Man, you're never going to let that slide, are you? So, tell me, what do the pods do?'

There was a pause. Eren heard a switch being flicked on.

_[Turn around.]_

Eren began to pace before his window, feeling impatient.

'What do you mean turn around? I’m getting a clear signal here.'

The voice went quiet, but there remained the unspoken authority in its tone. Soft but demanding.

 _[Jaeger]_ the guardian’s voice insisted. _[Turn around.]_

And how was Eren supposed to rebel against that dulcet tone? The peacekeeper pinched the bridge of his nose and resisted the urge to sigh. Half-fought battles led nowhere, but he didn't feel like giving in. 'Look. I’ll go through your hoops, alright. But first tell me what the pods do—'

_[Eren.]_

It was strange how just his name was Eren's undoing.

The boy turned around, ready to inspect the pods for the zillionth time. He caught the flicker of movement from the corner of his eyes. And the watch almost slipped from his fingers. Words failed him at this juncture, and all he could do was gape. Because there, in the middle of his dorm room… in his effing _dorm_ room, stood a man. A man who ought not to be here. The same person he’d been talking to just half a second ago. Levi stood, wearing a white shirt, dark blazer and black pants. Stubborn in his stance, his blunt to the blade pokerface. Not without that brooding expression, of course. The man with the undercut was looking at Eren, studying his face. It wasn't a cardboard picture either because the mouth moved, and he could see the hint of a smile appearing on those thin lips.

_[How long are you going to gawk? Take a picture, it’ll last you longer.]_

It was the watch still speaking. Not the apparition.

Eren staggered forward to the presence, to the specter in his room. The brunet brought a hand up.

'It’s you... isn't it? It's you. What? How—'

Eren reached forward gingerly, aiming to touch a cheek. But his fingers never met the pale skin. The hand went right through, image rippling like the disturbed waters of a lake.

In the end, that's all it was.

An image.

A projection.

They waited for the connection to stabilize. Levi watched Eren for a long while before giving the boy a careful nod.

_[It's just a projection, Eren. I’m not physically there.]_

Eren nodded and let his outstretched arm fall to his side.

'Yeah. I get it,' he noted with a dampened smile. But his eyes remained lit up. ' I get to see you though. You look _good_.'

The raven-haired man squinted at Eren, giving him the once over from head to toe.

_[Hm? Can't say the same about you. Your eyes are bloodshot; you look like you've grown... thinner. Starving yourself again?]_

Letting out a laugh, Eren rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. 'Yeah, finals are around the corner. And I am slogging through the night. Plus, Oluo is working me to the bone. Can I get a free pass on the vigils till I’m done with finals? Please? Pretty please?'

_[May I remind you, brat, that you're the one who asked to be a PeaceCorp.]_

Eren squinted at the image and sighed. 'I knew you’d say that. So,’ he paused. ‘—what's the occasion?'

_[Occasion?]_

'I mean this projection thing must be equivalent to a candlelight dinner in your terms. So, what's the occasion?'

_[There's no occasion.]_

Eren broke into a grin and sat down, perching himself on a corner of his study desk. He stared at his guardian, cocking up an eyebrow at the man.

'You wanted to see me that bad, huh? Admit it, _Corporal_ sir. You missed me.'

_[Oh no. You see, earthling, I have a four eyed colleague who is a little kooky in the head. You might know her. She works on research projects that are a waste of time and resources. She wanted to test out this prototype and… here I am.]_

‘A project, huh?’

_[Yes.]_

Eren saw him looking around.

_[So, is this... your house?]_

It was then that Eren became painfully aware of the mess in his room.

'No, not my house,’ he said quickly. ‘I've told you a hundred times that I stay in a dorm. Do you ever listen?'

Levi ignored him. The man's glance roved through the room— scrutinizing, sifting and judging Eren's possessions. The verdict came quickly, and Eren knew what it would be.

_[It's filthy.]_

Eren gave his guardian a weary look.

'Hey. Give me a warning if you're going to drop by or do whatever the hell this is supposed to be.'

Levi’s projection scratched his chin and gave a noncommittal shrug.

_[You couldn't have salvaged this room even if I’d given you a warning. It's a dump. Filthy. I expected better from you.]_

Eren folded his arms over his chest and jut his chin out.

'Seriously? You’re gonna lecture me _now_?'

The guardian wasn't listening. Levi resumed scanning his alien surroundings, as he swerved in his spot, trying to take in all about Eren's dorm room. From the messy study table, the hibernating laptop to his wardrobe and the stash of comic books skittered under the bed. The sharp grey of his gaze finally came to rest on Eren's midnight snack supplies.

_[Is that fungus I see?]_

Eren realised what he was looking at.

A noodle cup long past its expiry date.

'I was going to get rid of that,' the younger whined meekly and dived to remove the offending object from his view. Levi wasn’t done with his inspection.

_[And what is that rag on your chair? Your underwear?]_

'Uh… maybe,’ Eren scowled. 'Dammit, Levi. Leave my room alone.’

_[No, it looks like it needs attention. Your dire attention, trooper.]_

‘Hey. HEY! Will you listen to me?'

The raven-haired man turned to Eren and gave him a long, hard look.

_[Hm. I’m listening. What?]_

Eren gauged him coldly.

'C’mon, you didn’t project yourself all the way here to find fault with me, did you?’

Their argument was short-lived for there was a knock on the door. Eren snapped his attention to the door, eyes going wide like a deer caught before headlights. Oh shit, he cursed.

Connie's voice rang out.

'Jaeger! You forgot your notes in class!'

Eren turned to give Levi a glance of desperation. There was a silent exchange of words as a panicking Eren gestured at the man to cut the communication link. But his guardian remained the very picture of calm and even began to look faintly curious about the stranger knocking on Eren’s door.

 _Go_ , Eren mimed at the projection.

Levi shook his head in answer.

‘Yo, Jaeger! You in?’

'I'll get them later!' Eren shouted back to Connie while giving his husband a pleading look. _Please, please, don't say a word. You gotta leave. Now!_ the college student urged, bowing with folded hands.

The specter of Rivaille Levi, of course, wasn't that easy to get rid of.

Nor was Connie Springer, for that matter.

'Oh, c’mon, dude,’ Connie grumbled outside his door. ‘Just do me a favor and take the notes so I can get back to my life. Being a Samaritan isn't really my thing.'

Eren turned to the projection and watched the quasi Napoleon raise an eyebrow. There was a glint of understanding in his gaze, and the older man smirked, taking up the challenge. What he said next undid all of Eren’s efforts in warding off Connie.

_[You don't have to be shy, honey. This was your idea, after all.]_

Levi spoke, alright, and he had spoken in a voice that the older man employed only on training grounds. Loud enough for every cadet to hear, teasing enough to make Eren's ears turn red, and filled with double entendres a plenty. Connie Springer didn't miss those words either.

'Dudddde! Who do you have hidden in there? It's a weekday. Visitors are not allowed inside the dormitory on weekdays. Open the door, Eren!’

‘Not right now, Connie!’

 ‘Open the door OR IMMA GONNA BULLDOZE MY WAY IN!’

Eren gave the older man an incredulous look. A look that was meant to be interpreted as 'Now, look what you did!'

Levi looked on in amusement as Eren dove for the controller and fiddled with it.

_[You want me to leave? Already? We haven't even started yet.]_

‘Stop talking!’ Eren mimed at the projection.

Outside, Connie redoubled his efforts to break down the door.

'Dude! Open the door!' the boy yelled as he wrestled with the knob.

Eren turned between the door and Levi, scowling at both, and he wondered which was the greater of the two evils.

'EREN!' Connie bellowed from outside.

The brunet cast a look of aggravation at the door.

'Dammit, Connie. There is no one else here.'

'You're lying!'

'AM NOT,' Eren hollered back indignantly.

Technically, it was the truth.

'Open the door or I'm going to squeal about you to the resident advisor.'

At which point, Eren gave up the controller and shot Levi a glare. He cut the lights and went to answer the door. There was no use thwarting the bald racoon. In the darkness, Levi's presence was like a fluorescent wraith. The man smirked and scratched his chin in amusement. The older probably wanted to know how Eren was going to diffuse the situation. And the peacekeeper wanted to wipe that smirk right off his face.

Eren unlocked the door and opened it by a crack. He gauged the boy outside.

Connie wiggled his eyebrows expectantly.

'So?' the shorter boy quipped.

'So, _what_?'

'Who's inside?' Connie demanded, craning his neck to get a glimpse inside Eren’s room. 'Who are you having a secret rendezvous with?'

'No one.'

'Yeah, right. Why do you have the lights out? Don't try hiding it. I HEARD someone in there, Jaeger! And I am gonna find out who it is!'

Clearly, Connie wasn't going to give up that easily.

Eren kept a serious face as he looked up and down the corridor. Deeming them to be alone, he slipped out of his room and latched the door shut behind him. The brunet waggled a finger in air, asking Connie to lean in closer.

Connie was all ears.

'Cons, I'll tell you the truth. But promise me you won't tell anyone.'

'Sure,' the shorter boy vowed, rubbing his hands at the prospect of a scandal. 'But first tell me, who the hell are you shagging?'

'I’m NOT shagging anyone.'

'True, and denial is not a river in Egypt either. I heard someone in there—' he pressed incessantly, digging for the skeletons in Eren’s closet.

The peacekeeper resorted to plan B, shushing the other.

'Okay, the thing is… Don’t tell anyone, but I-I was trying my hand at an Ouija board.'

If Eren had hoped that this would thwart any more questions, he was wrong. Connie's face lit up like a Christmas tree and gave him further incentive to enter Eren's room.

'An Ouija board? COOL! I always wanted to try one,' Connie said, trying to slip past the peacekeeper. 'My grandma Valerie, did I ever tell you about her? The old hag was a riot, you know… but she kicked the bucket eight months ago. Tuberculosis and hypothermia because she went skinny dipping in a lake. She was a nutter, alright. You think we can summon her? I don't think her ghost will mind me checking up on her. I was kinda her favorite.'

Eren clasped the boy's shoulders and held Connie back.

'Sorry, Cons. But no can do. I’m already using it.'

Realisation dawned on the shorter boy, and he stilled.

'Whoa, cool. That’s where the voice came from? Wait, you managed to summon a spirit by yourself?'

'Yeah.'

'Whose is it?'

Eren swept a hand through his hair in embarrassment.

'Uh, my... my uncle.'

There was an awkward silence, and a furrow of confusion passed on Connie's face. The boy's shoulders went slack as he ruminated and pulled away from the door.

'Dude, you've got a perverted uncle, huh?'

Eren broke into a reluctant smile.

'No doubt about that.'

 

 

 

Upon collecting his notes and getting rid of Connie, Eren returned to the confines of his dorm room. He switched the lights on and found the grey eyed man still standing in the middle of the pod square, waiting for him. Eren stopped in his tracks, wondering what he should do now. The Earthborn wasn't sure if he ought to be relieved or furious with his insensitive prick of a husband. In a way, the choice wasn't left to him.

 _[Uncle, huh?]_ came the insidious question from the man's lips.

Levi smirked.

Eren rolled his eyes as he tucked away his notes into a folder.

'Haha, you think you’re very funny, don’t you?' he said with sarcasm. 'You still haven't told me what you're doing here, Levi.'

Eren watched as the older man lifted a finger and motioned for him to come closer.

'Why?' the brown-haired boy asked in return, suspicion lacing his tone.

_[Tch. Get over here.]_

Eren stepped up closer. 'What?' he demanded.

There was a silence as he watched Levi peer at him, grey eyes scanning him up and down.

 _[Strip]_ came the single worded command.

Eren looked at the man in all seriousness and discreetly, groped for the controller on his bed.

'So, you did miss me,' Eren said huskily, leaning close enough to trouble the raven-haired Corporal but not close enough to disturb the projection. He saw Levi give a small nod, grey eyes looking dazed and interested. 'You missed me and wanted to see me that bad, huh? You should have said so… from the very beginning, sir. This wasn't about testing the prototype, was it?'

Levi's eyes were half-closed, and the guardian was hanging on to every word of his.

_[Maybe not.]_

'I see. So, uh … Levi?' Eren asked, hovering close enough for their noses to touch.

[Hm?]

'You are in the bedroom, right now?'

_[Yes.]_

'I guess I should inform you that Krobe is pissing oil on your bed.'

There was a pause.

_[… what?]_

The distraction was all that the young peacekeeper needed... to bring the controller forward, and he powered off the pods. The projection zapped close, and Eren was alone in his dorm room again. With a gratuitous smirk and a sliver of a laugh, he turned to the watch lying on the floor. The voice on Gale sounded indignant. Amused, Eren picked it up and tapped the dial, testing the connection.

'You there, Levi?'

There was a grunt on the other end.

Eren let out a bark of laughter.

'I can't believe you fell for that. Man, I totally win this round.'

_[You’re a brat.]_

The verdict from the comm. didn’t surprise him.

 

 

 

 

_The story about Pyramus and Thisbe? I didn't finish it? You sure?_

_Oh, right. You snubbed me last time, didn't you?_

_You want to know what happened to them?_

_Well, Pyramus and Thisbe… they died._

_No, I’m not joking._

_How?_

_It was the lion's fault._

_... entirely the lion's fault._

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> In the actual myth, Pyramus and Thisbe are a couple of young Babylonians in love. Unfortunately, their families despised each other. The star-crossed lovers would whisper sweet nothings through a crack in the wall that separates their houses, until they eventually can't take it anymore and decide to elope. But when Thisbe shows up under the mulberry tree where they're supposed to meet, she finds a bloody-jawed lioness lurking there (a lion, in some accounts) . Thisbe screams and runs, leaving her shawl behind. Pyramus arrives a little while later and finds the lioness ripping apart the shawl. Assuming Thisbe has been devoured by the lion, he stabs himself with his sword. Later, Thisbe returns, figures out the horrible misunderstanding that's happened, and stabs herself with Pyramus's sword. To this day, the formerly white berries of the mulberry tree are stained red with the blood of these tragic lovers.
> 
> Ridiculous story, isn’t it?


End file.
